NEP: Strengthening the Strong, Weakening the Weak

Since its debut in 1971, the National Economic Policy, many have observed that the policy has not liven up to its expectations. But, in my opinion, if there are no such thing as the NEP, it would definitely be a different story today. I believe that the Malays is as strong as the other races in term of economic sectors. Heck, the Malays are international traders during the era of Sultanate of Malacca. I believe that the reason that the Malay are not strong in the economic sector today is due to the National Economic Policy. The NEP has somewhat strengthening the already strong and weakening the already weak.

I would like to make an analogy of the National Economic Policy to this fictional story. Imagine in a house where you have a father and two sons. In bringing up his two sons, the father notices that the second one seems to be much more independent and usually do everything on his own initiative without much relying to his father for any support. The second child also excel in academic. Meanwhile, the adult child are totally different story. The adult child does not show any initiative in life and very much dependent on the support of his father. So, being a good father, seeing the development of his two children, he will try to balance this out. Seeing that his second child can survive on his own, he puts more attention to the adult son. The support is putting more tuition money for the adult son, buying him more gifts to encourage him to excel and also pampers him more as to shows his encouragement. The second child is not given much of his attention because he knew that the second child is already well off. And seeing this development, the second child gets even better in academic and life even though he is not rewarded as much as his brother. But deep inside, he felt a bit of resentment to the biased treatment by the father. This makes him even harder to excel in life just to show to his father who is better among the siblings.

The father thought that by giving extra rewards and attention, the adult child will change his behavior and finally be able to live his life to the fullest. But, the opposite occurs. The adult feels pampered and becomes even more dependent on his father. He become even worse in academic because he knew even if he gets bad results, the father will always be there for him to bail him out. Even when he is out in the world and setting up a business, he will know that even the business fails, the father will always be there for him. For him, there will always be a safety net and therefore the treatment by his father have make him even weaker than before. He is totally dependent on his father and worries that if the father is no longer there he will not survive on its own.

Meanwhile, the second child who already making out on its own never relies on his father. He knows that his father will only give preferential treatment to the eldest and therefore for him there is no safety net. Therefore, he must succeed in life. This has make him stronger and more confident in living his life. Therefore, not being pampered by his father has somewhat build his characteristic to be much stronger than his brother.

This analogy is a simple analogy if to compare with the total obejctive of the NEP and also the NDP. But, policy and human relationship is always correlated. We are all human basically. The policy will always remain a policy if there is no human to implement it. Humans are complicated. And therefore, in making sure a policy does not backfire is by understanding the pscychology of the human being. 

We Malaysians are very Generous even to Rich People

vs
Please tell me who really needs RM5 million charity from the Government ?


The Ex-Gratia payment to the sacked judges have really pissed many people off. The judgement by the Government to approved this ridiculous payment will really really tarnished the already poor image of the current government. Those sacked judges are already well off eventhough they are being terminated early by the government. They even received pension and gratuity. So, what's the purpose of the huge ex-gratia payment for? The Government is saying it is not an admission of guilt. So, really.. please tell us why the government use public money to give to the already rich guys? RM10.6 million can buy a lot of things for the poor people of Malaysia.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

In Malaysia we seem to have an imitation crisis. When the United States come up with the Silicon Valley that gave birth to great companies such as google, ebay etc, we came up also with our own version of the silicon valley at Cyberjaya. It supposed to create ICT companies that can compete in global scale and also captures outsourcing job such as what has happened in India. But, Cyberjaya now seems to be housing many global call centres. So much for the outsourcing job. We also try to imitate the success of Indian companies who has been very successful in attracting outsourcing job from the rest of the world. 

When Paklah announced that we should be 100% self sustained in terms of food production, dozens of visits have been organised by government agencies to Holland; who has a successful food valley. (Not forgetting the Member's of Parliament's visit to Taiwan :))  Now with the wind of change that we can see in America whereby they could be having their first black American for president, would this form of leadership from the minority population of the country would be imitated here in Malaysia? hmmm.. only time would tell.

 

Global Recession - Malaysia in Denial

It's funny when an anticipated event will still caught people by suprise if it did really happened. That's what happened when the US faced an economic meltdown eventhough pundits have warned on this as early as 2006. What the global community was caught off guard was the severity of the recession. Many economists predict the recession will be as worse as the 1930's depression. Please note that the 1930's depression has led to world war two. 

A recession can be defined as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy and last more than a few months or by technical terms two quarters of the year. Recession impacts the real GDP, real income, employment, and industrial production. A sustained recession may led to an era of depression. 

With the global financial crisis looming, it is suprised when the top honchos that led the financial matters in this country are saying that we will not be affected as much as the other countries. This statement reminded me about a quote Harry Truman once said about recession 'Recession is when a neighbour losses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.' Malaysia has not yet felt the full brutal effect of the global wave of recession and therefore we are still in denial. The wave will reach our shores next year and we have to be prepared for it as it can be worse than we have ever encounter before. 

R.A.H.M.A.N Theory

There is a theory that has been going around since Tun Dr M's era of premiership. The theory is that the first alphabet of the name of the Prime Minister of Malaysia will follow these alphabets R.A.H.M.A.N. And quite coincidently, our first prime minister is Tunku Abdul RAHMAN. The theory is quite freaky if you think about it. Now that Paklah will hand over his job to Najib in March next year, it will make the theory into reality. When the theory arised during Mahathir's era, many people think that the A after the M must be Anwar. But, alas, the A are destined to be Abdullah instead. Now, many people believe that the N after the A would be Najib. But, nothing is confirmed in politics. Najib maybe seems to be heading towards the throne, but until March next year, we can only wait and see. Probably, the N can be Nik Aziz or Nurul Izzah :) hmmm...

Anwar have been Checkmated by Pak Lah?

16 September comes, 16 September goes.
BN still in power, and Pakatan Rakyat are in woes.

There could be much speculation about why Anwar have not revealed the 31 names yet, and none of the existing MPs have defected yet. But, if the script goes well, Anwar should have announced it already. As Pak Lah have stated yesterday, if Anwar already have the defectors in line, why need to request to see him. Anwar and his goons can stormed into Putrajaya already.

In my opinion is that, the Prime Minister seat is now not in the hand of Rakyat, but more to the hands of these 31 MPs. Is that democratic or what? These 31 MPS or can I say 0.00001% of Malaysia's population has become a power shifter and can decide for us who will govern the country. And we as a citizen are only a spectator to these power greedy fellas. Anwar knows this very well and that's why he is been chasing these MPs like no one business. Anwar must persuade these MPs to discard their integrity and honor in order for them to jump ship. What possible reason and strong enough motivation for them to hop to the other side? I can only think of two major factor - Better Position and Better Money. Because if these 31 MPS are really a noble person, and thinking of the Rakyat, they will not jump ship. It is because they are elected to the parliamentary seat by the supporters of BN and the people who believe in BN. By jumping ship, they are betraying the trust of the people who put them there. So, to persuade an MP to jump ship, Anwar must find MPs that have no disregards of the people who elected them and selfish enough to take the bait by Pakatan Rakyat. So, Anwar, please reveal the names, I definitely would not vote for this hopping MPs ever again.

Paklah starts to use his rotan - the ISA

The Internal Secury Act is a legislation act thats enables the executive government of a jurisdiction to preserve the internal security of the nation. In some jurisdictions, it authorizes the government to arrest and detain individuals without trial. Other countries besides Malaysia that have similar legislation are Singapore, Israel, South Africa and the United States of America. The legislation has a noble intention of safeguarding the national securities from terrorists or individuals that can pose danger to the the country. Interestingly is that all this legislation are borned for the need of preventing and defending the country from terrorists. ISA in Malaysia was borned during the height of communist way back in the pre-merdeka period. The Patriot Act introduced in USA was also borned from 9/11 tragedy. It is put in place due to the fear of terrorists. The same goes to Israel and also South Africa.  

Now, we can see in the newspaper today, Pak Lah and Syed Hamid Albar is starting to use again the ISA as you can read it here. Definitely the government will say that the ISA have to be used because these individuals can be a threat to the nation. These people must be detain under ISA before the country would be in a state of anarchy. In my personal opinion, ISA should only be used if the individual can posed imminent danger such as what a terrorists can posed. An imminent danger to the country and not the imminent danger to the ruling party. Yes, these people who have been detained might probably have breached seditious act, but why use ISA for it? Or are we now under attack by terrorist again? 

Of Colors, Racism and Asabiyyah

A collaborative team led by scholars at Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin Universities has done an extensive research on the origin of human being by DNA analysis. The research confirms the “Out Of Africa” hypothesis that all modern humans stem from a single group of Homo sapiens who emigrated from Africa 2,000 generations ago and spread throughout Eurasia over thousands of years. These settlers replaced other early humans (such as Neanderthals), rather than interbreeding with them. You can read more about this here.

I bring out this topic due to the recent frascos and racist remarks done some of our damn politicians such as Ahmad Ismail. He may have saying the facts about the Chinese was once an immigrant, but so do your ancestors. If the study above are correct, we all originated from Africa and have the same great, great, great grandfathers. Even in the Quran and Bible, it clearly stated that ALL HUMAN BEINGS originated from Adam and Eve. So, what makes us all different? We all have the same red blood and DNA. The only difference is the culture and religion that we strongly hold to. Besides from that, eventhough we have different color skins, we are practically the same. No race is above others. No race is far more superior than others. Arab is not superior to Non Arab. White people is not superior to Non White People. And the same goes here in Malaysia. It is only just a perception that the Malays are not competitive. It is only just a perception the Chinese are good at business. As a human being, individually, we have the power to achieve anything that we want as long as we set our mind to it. In my opinion, the only superior person, is the one who learn the most, work the most and humblest the most, regardless of culture, race or religion.

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia.. Merdeka!!!

Happy 51st Merdeka day to all Malaysians.. This year has been a very unique year for Malaysia as we as a nation are maturing and starting to free our mind from the authoritarian control and brainwash from the Malaysian government as previously before. Below are some unique quotes from bright minds that best describe our merdeka day this year:-

"The great civilisaton of the past do not have democracy and yet they became great.It's not necessary that the system will work for everybody. But if you have a bad leader , even the democracy system would fail. You must remember that in this democracy country which dropped atom bomb.. killing two hundred thousand people." - Tun Dr Mahathir

"Freedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them - and then, the opportunity to choose." - C. Wright Mills

"Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the very same time the beginning of his freedom and development of his reason". - Erich Fromm

Petronas Ad on Merdeka Celebration. Very touching :)

PM unhappy with Komuter, LRT services

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister took a ride on the Komuter and LRT trains and was not impressed. In the journey from Serdang to Masjid Jamek using the two train systems, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi got a first-hand look at the congestion problem, especially during peak hours. He also talked to passengers to get their feedback on the services provided. He said later that the operations of the two train services were not systematic and there were also insufficient coaches.

Read it here, excerpt from The Star online today.

*****************

FINALLLLLYYY.. after 1,000,000,000 gazillion complaints about the poor public transportation in Malaysia, Paklah finally understood the complaints. That is of course he himself needs to actually take a ride and feels it first hand. It shows that the 'Rakyat' complaint before this about the poor public transport have fallen to deaf ears. What's next after this, Paklah goes to 'kedai runcit' to buy grocery items such as rice, cooking oil, chicken and etc. and finally realize that the price has gone up tremendously as shouted by the people all along. He then finally feels 'unhappy' about this and finally do something about it.

War, Innovation and Domination

War by the definition of Merriam-Webster dictionary is "state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations." It is funny that our culture can tolerate on things such as 'War'. The act of war or agression by certain party towards a sovereign nation is something that have been in our history dated far back to ancient history. The only thing different is the evolving weaponry that is use in war from just plain of rocks to more efficient weapon that can kill hundreds of human instantly. But the same underlying principle of war is still the same and that is to kill many people as efficient as possible.

Interestingly enough also, if you look at history, some of the greatest innovation ever created by human is because of their desire and effort to win the war. Technology such as rocket propulsion and Internet was first created for military purposes. Many inventions that you found today are the result of war. It is not the war that actually caused this great invention but more of the competitive nature of that war. It forces people to think and create technology that gave competitive advantage to either sides in winning the war. Upholding the sovereignity of a country and the greed of power have strangely give catalyst to the development of technology. But with that catalyst, many innocent people have been sacrificed. So, is it worth it?

Below are a video tape of Tun Dr Mahathir on the criminalisation of war that I found on youtube.

Fly Jalur Gemilang the correct way

Federated Malay States (1896 to 1950)

Malaya (1950 to 1963)

Malaysia (current)

Above are our beloved flag design evolution over the years. The Malayan flag was actually designed by a person named Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Bahru back in the 1950s. He won by submitting the design in a competition. Some said that during that time, Communism was a great threat to the nation and Malaysia are seeking favour from America to ward off this threat. America at that time was heavily fighting communism in Vietnam. Therefore, Tunku Abdul Rahman wanted our flag to have some similarity to the American flag. Therefore, you can see that we have the same red and white stripes like the American flag. Nevertheless, our flag is the pride of our nation. Regardless of race, politics, or religion, we have the same flag to be proud of. So, as we celebrate our independence day this August, please do not fly the flag upside down as being promoted by some people. In the country history, many people have died trying to uphold this flag as it represents our sovereignity. For us to fly it upside down will only bring insult to all the people who have sacrificed and died for this country and uphelding this flag. Fly the flag with pride because as a Malaysian, this is the only flag that we have that represents our identity. Long live Jalur Gemilang!

The 4th Floor Boys and The Ivory Tower Syndrome

The Perdana Putra building can be claimed as one of the famous and beautiful building in Malaysia. The building itself portrays grandeur and carries a self of pride for Malaysian Government as the Prime Minister’s office and DPM’s office is located there. It is somewhat similar to a White House in the USA. But, I do not want to elaborate on the building but more on the working environment there. Having worked there myself for three years, I have to say there is a certain eliteness of having an office there and having to come to work in that building. Minus all the VVIPS, you can actually see the pride of every personnel working there from tea lady, security guard and up to the higher ranking officers. There is this ‘feel good’ feeling that you are on top of everybody else in the government because you are there in the Perdana Putra Building. Nevertheless, due to the high security there, the building has limited access to the public and therefore it has created a very contained working environment. Just imagine it, many important policy decisions sometimes take place in that building but the working environment there is very contained and the eliteness of the building akin to a palace is making it worse in terms of policy decision.

In my personal opinion, the Perdana Putra building working environment has created what I call an “Ivory Tower Syndrome”. The Ivory Tower Syndrome is the implication of a person who are so deeply drawn in their place or area that they often can’t find or associate with laymen outside their ivory towers. The so called ‘4th Floor boys’ that worked there are not policy makers and not that influence able outside, but inside the building, they are closed to the two most important person in Malaysia that makes decision for the country. Therefore, no wonder that Pak Lah sometimes makes decision that seems really out of touch with the current reality of what the Malaysians are facing. Pak Lah and Najib have surrounded themselves with a group of people who feels they are an elite group and deserve to be in an ivory tower and people outside the ivory are a mere peasants. Is this a feudalistic thinking in a modern day government of Malaysia?

Remembering The Naning Wars

If you read the history of Malaysia, many of us would know that the first resurgence of the British occupancy in Malaya came from a man named Dol Said. Dol Said or in full Dato' Abdul Said was a 19th century Malay leader of an area called Naning, which was then part of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. He opposed taxation by the British's taxation policy in the area and refused to pay it. This was a direct cause of a conflict known as the Naning War. (source: wikipedia)

The Naning War is fought by Dol Said and his men through mainly guerilla tactics and also with aid from other Malay allies such as Seri Menanti, Sungai Ujong, Johol and Muar. These unity and some brilliant tactics by Dol Said have made Naning impenetrable. The British have sent huge amount of soldiers to recapture Naning but has been defeated in each battle.

The British in realising their defeat changed their tactics. They realise that the united front of Dol Said and his allies was the main reason they cannot recapture Naning. They then conspired with Yamtuan Muda Raja Ali in Rembau and also with other Malay alllies that once supported Dol Said. Rembau have also agreed to send 600 troops to assist British in attacking Naning. In a battle led by Colonel Herbert, the British finally secured victory as all the Malay allies have betrayed Dol Said and sided with the British. The battle have forced Dol Said to retreat to Sri Menanti before surrendering himself, effectively ending the war. British then combined Malacca and Naning. Dol said was given a home in Malacca.

Dol Said and the people of Naning was betrayed by the Malays of Rembau. The Rembau Malays and their descendants now enjoying the spoils of war and from the blood shed by the people of Naning.

Naning war have shown us that with a united front, we can defeat the enemy no matter how big they are. British at that time was a super power with empire spanning around the globe but was defeated by Dol Said and his men. They only lost because of the betrayal of their own people. This same pattern can be found in many countries histories. In one hand, you have this true freedom fighter and a leader who wants nothing but freedom for the country. In another hand, you have leaders who turns greedy and willing to sacrifice their country as long as their pockets and interests are well been taken care of.

And I am pretty sure also that here in the present day of Malaysia, we do have politicians and leaders who would willing to sell the country to foreign powers as long as their greedy needs is being taken care of. Honestly, we are witnessing it right now in our current political scenario. So, it is our job to make sure these kind of leaders do not get elected or stay in the corridor of power. God bless Malaysia.

Anwar vs Shabery: Another Milestone for Malaysian Democracy

I just could not believe it. A live debate (US presidential debate style) between the government and opposition live in television. I never thought that this would happen here in Malaysia. The first question people will ask after this would always be, Who Wins? From my personal opinion, in terms of style and rhetorics, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim hands down. Datuk Shabery is no match with this legendary orator. But in terms of content and substance, I have to say it is a tie. Both gave some hard facts and but both gave no concrete solution in reducing the oil price.

As Anwar have proposed, RM5 billion government subsidy for a 50 sen reduction of oil price? Until when? Is he on denial? He must accept the fact that the oil price will keep on increasing. It is a depleted resource of energy. How can a depleted resource that is being consumed everday plus with the increasing demand would decrease in price in the future? Dato Ahmad Shabery also fails to counter Anwar's statement in the leakage of government money that can be used to reduce the oil price. He seems to be just following a prepared script and not doing an impromptu reply on that. All in all, watching the debate is like watching a boxing match but with no clear TKO.

But, personally, I think the big winner here is the MALAYSIAN DEMOCRACY. Finally it has reached a stage of maturity whereby we can let the people decide who really champions their plight and issues. Congratulations to two both individuals Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Ahmad Shabery and the organiser Agenda Daily in making this happen. Hope there will be more debates like this in the future.

Here in My Home

With all the negative politicking around, the people divided by politicians hunger for power, I have to praise the Malaysian Artistes for Unity of coming up with this music video. The video and lyrics captured the very essence of what we are as Malaysians must stand united for regardless of race, religion and political differences. This music video is produced at a timely manner where now we as a Malaysian started to drift apart due to the unscrupulous negative politicking around us this days. What happened to our vision 2020? What happened to Malaysia's goal of a developed nation? With the current government and opposition both saying that they want the best for the 'Rakyat', I think it is best for them to look back at Malaysia's intended goal, what this country is for and it's future. Squabbling for power will do no good. We only want one love undivided. We want unity. Enjoy the music video. :)

Who needs to go to the Movies when you have Malaysian Politics

It got all the elements for a blockbuster movie. Sex, Money, Power, Corruption and also Love perhaps (gay love is still a love nevertheless). Put it all in one script that ran almost 20 years. You can even get a trilogy out of it.

The first part can be entitled Anwar: A New Hope. This part chronicles the rise of young Anwar from street politics to mainstream politics. Handpicked by the Master jedi, Dr M himself to become the successor of his empire. He soon rise and became the second most powerful figure in Malaysia. But nevertheless, it is not destined for Anwar yet to become the leader of this great nation. The attraction of power is too great and has led Anwar to go against his own Master. Alas, this led to a final battle where Anwar is defeated and the Master Jedi seems to be much powerful than he anticipated. This part ended with Anwar been thrown into the dungeon.

The second part of the trilogy is entitled Anwar: The Reformasi Strikes Back. In this part, six years has gone by and Anwar manage to free himself from the dungeon. He reconnects with his old rebellion and also united the other rebels who have gone into hiding. Standing united they form an alliance to once again do battle with powers that be. Skirmishes and battles are launched. Attacks and counter attacks occured. This second part is full of action from the start. The ending scene for this part is where Anwar and his rebellion celebrates as they have won a very critical battle and had captured 5 states.

The Final trilogy is entitled Anwar: Return of the King. The script of this part is yet to be written as it is unfolding right at this very moment. Will Anwar finally claim his destiny as the ruler of this great nation or die trying? Or will the powers that be triumph? As any blockbuster epic movie would end, a climax battle will happened. So, stay tune. :)

It's 1998 all over again

I'm confused. Anwar Ibrahim has been charged with sodomy but then he gets a death threat and wants confirmation from the Government for his safety? What about the so called victim? Shouldn't the police protect the victim first? Who is protecting Saiful Bukhari? I do not know whether this guy is right or wrong.. but still, this guy's life is also in danger since the accusation has serious implication. And then the flip-flop statement from PKR. At first they stated that Saiful was forced by the police to make a police report. Suddenly Anwar files a civil suit to Saiful for defamation? Najib's statement also is confusing. How come Saiful can went to his office asking the deputy prime minister's office for scholarship? Since when the DPM's office offers a scholarship? And the more interesting question is, does the DPM office approved of this so called scholarship? hmmm..

Global recession near the corner?

"The Great Depression was a dramatic, worldwide economic downturn beginning in some countries as early as 1928.[1] The beginning of the Great Depression in the United States is associated with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday and the end is associated with the onset of the war economy of World War II, beginning around 1939." - source Wikipedia

This info I got from wikipedia really freaks me out in one way or another. There has been talks in the newspaper, magazines, that if the trend of oil price increase continues, it will trigger a economic recession all around the world. This will also led to a another great depression similar to what have happened in the 1940's.

As people always say, history tends to repeat itself. If we were headed to another global recession, is it also possible that we will be heading towards another world war? This is another info I got from wikipedia:-

"Germany's Weimar Republic was hit hard by the depression, as American loans to help rebuild the German economy now stopped. Unemployment soared, especially in larger cities, and the political system veered toward extremism. Repayment of the war reparations due by Germany were suspended in 1932 following the Lausanne Conference of 1932. By that time Germany had repaid 1/8th of the reparations. Hitler's Nazi Party came to power in January 1933". - Wikipedia

So, basically due to the recession, Hitler managed to get in power due to unsatisfied citizens at that time trying to cope with rising inflations. Sounds familiar right? The number of unemployed in German grew; poverty on the rise, people starved on the streets. In the crisis, people wanted someone to take the blame and Hitler offered them the solution, and Nazi succeeded in taking power. After Hitler comes to power, the next thing he did was to divert the attention of the german people from the crisis that they have and focus it on expanding the german empire by invading other countries. Therefore, World War two unfolded. As I said again earlier, history tends to repeat itself and I greatly hope that this one would not.

Abdullah and Altantunya Saga

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has refuted an allegation that he had received a written report from military intelligence over the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“Of course I am concerned (over the allegation by Malaysia Today blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin). What Raja Petra did is unacceptable ... because what he stated is incorrect.
“It is stated (in Raja Petra’s statutory declaration) that I received a report from the military intelligence. That is not correct,” he said yesterday.

Abdullah said this when asked to comment on the statutory declaration made by Raja Petra on June 18 in which he stated, among others, that Abdullah had received a written report from military intelligence on Altantuya's murder. – Bernama

If I interpreted this news correctly, Pak Lah is saying that the part he received the report from the military intelligence on Altatunya case is incorrect. But, what about the other statement from the statutory declaration? Why Pak Lah did not say the other statement is incorrect too? Hmmmmmm.... :P

Anwar Ibrahim: The Art of War

Anwar Ibrahim must probably be strategising when he is in the solitary confinement of his prison for six years. The grand master plan must be entitled "How to become Malaysia's next Prime Minister". So, far the blueprint has been executed well. Let's look at this strategy that he probably used in PRU12.

"Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." - Sun Tzu

Before election, BN seems to be overconfident and have been targeting to win Kelantan. They assume that the opposition will not be united as before. They even underestimate the influence of Anwar Ibrahim. And Anwar plays the card well. By appearing not united and even not a threat to BN, it makes Pak Lah and the gang even more confident to put all of their resources to win back Kelantan. But, it seems its not Kelantan that they should be worried about but the entire states as well.

These are another excerpt from the famous Art Of War by Sun Tzu:-
1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
2) Which of the two generals has most ability?
3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
5) Which army is stronger?
6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat. - Sun Tzu

The Pakatan Rakyat has been tackling these strategies very well. Let's see here.

1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
People sees that the moral value is more towards Pakatan Rakyat than BN. This is made
worse by the Lingam tape, Chua Soi Lek scandal and etc.

2) Which of the two generals has most ability?
Charismatically, Anwar seems to be seen more able compared to Pak Lah.

3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
PAS got this one covered. ;)

4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
Before this, BN seems to have the upper hand. but BN flip flop decision in recent events have tarnished this image.

5) Which army is stronger?
BN stills holds the majority seat and therefore appears stronger. But, this may change if there are party crossover by BN components.

6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
BN still wins on this but please be remind that Anwar was once acting Prime Minister. Therefore, the credentials still holds for both sides.

7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

In tackling this issue, both sides should be fulfilling their manifesto as promised. Whoever sides constantly fulfills the manifesto, should win the battle.

So, from this strategy, who appears to be winning?

And the crumble begins

SAPP's vote of no confidence against PM
The Star, 18th June 2008

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has lost confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, it said at a press conference here Wednesday.
In the coming sitting of the Parliament session on Monday, its two Members of Parliament will support a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister, the party said.
Whether its MPs table the vote of no confidence, or whether other MPs will do it, would be determined in due course, it said in a statement.

SAPP’s two MPs are Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (P171 Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chu Soon Bui (P190 Tawau). The party also has four state representatives. Talk had been rife Wednesday morning that SAPP was going to abandon the Barisan Nasional coalition and defect to the Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

The party is running a poll on its blog, asking members of the public whether it should stay on in Barisan, leave the coalition but remain independent, or join Pakatan.
At press time, there were 532 votes tallied, with 80% (428 votes) asking SAPP to join Pakatan. Only 1% (10 votes) urged it to stay on with Barisan.

...And, the crumble of BN begins. If Mahathir leaving UMNO only creates a dent, this major move by SAPP will definitely break loose the water in the dam. I am not suprised that we probably going to have a new prime minister before the end of this year.

Inflation vs EPF

With the oil price going up the roof, the domino effect will eventually spiral down to the consumer products and sooner or later inflation will rise like hell. Unfortunately, the malaysian average salary remains the same and so does our EPF contribution. Bank Negara has announced that the inflation can rise to 5% this year due to the recent oil price increase. The effect of inflation can be simplifiy like this. If you have RM1,000 locked in your EPF today, assuming we have an average of inflation of 2% for the next 36 years, your money is worth RM500 by then. Going by the average of return from EPF since 1980's till now, the average return is only at 5%-6%. That is not enough for our money to keep up with the inflation. That also means as you retired, your supposed-to-be retirement money can only lasts for 5 to 6 years only as your money has decreased in value. This is an alarming fact for all Malaysians and should be taken seriously. Definitely we would not want to retire at the age of 55 and only to realise that we have to work again at 60.

Complacent Malaysians

Malaysians, regardless of race, has become complacent. What I mean by complacent is that Malaysians will always expect the government to handle their problems and to protect their futures. We kinda like a spoilt brat who always assume our parents knows best and will protect us and solve any mischievous things that we have done. We as a nation have put too much faith in politicians and MPs to solve our problems. Why I came to this conclusion is based on the recent events that occured lately. The oil price hike, food price increase, the toll increase, the general election, and even our deterioting relationship with different races in the country has been pinpointed to the government (more so to Pak Lah).

I am not defending the government here but it seems that we blame the government on almost everything. We have to realise that many problems occured today cannot be solved by the government (They are humans anyway). The MP can quarrel from dusk till dawn in the parliament, but in reality it is really up to us to solve our own problem. We have developed a entitlement mentality whereby we always expect the government's handout to solve our problem. With all the complaints on the government for the food price increase, we still have extra money to vote for our favourite singer in reality tv such as Akademi Fantasia, One in a million, Gangstarz and etc. We complaint about the flash flood occured in the city but yet some of us still throw away thrashes in the drain. We blame the government about the racial disunity but actually it is really up to us to bring that racial divide closer. Simple, start being nice and trustworthy to each other. Changes are occuring everywhere in the world and not just Malaysia. On my personal view, we are at the tipping point of either another global recession similar to the 1930's or something entirely new. When it happens, if we are not ready, we have only ourselves to blame.

Five states and an Island.. Way to go, Pak Lah

Not in a million years would Pak Lah could have imagine what 2008 could have brought him. I think he needs to 'mandi bunga' to get rid of the bad feng shui. This year is most probably the worst year that he had ever been in his career. He just lead BN to its worst performing General Election. He lost 5 states to the opposition and now Pulau Batu Putih has gone to Singapore. Many are blaming the Malaysian team for the loss for not presenting their case well. But what makes me piss off is the fact that a very important letter validifying the claim could not be found by the team eventhough they admitted on the existence of the letter. I think Karpal Singh was right by saying that why Malaysia even dare to present the case to ICJ if we do not have sufficient document to defend with. The island is in dispute for 28 years. My assumption is that under Dr M's era, he knew Malaysia could lost the case and therefore he never tries to settle it with ICJ. Just let it be. Better quarrel than losing our sovereignity. And then Pak Lah came along. He blindly accepted Singapore's proposal to settle this with ICJ without knowing we are not well prepared, and wallaah.. we officially lost an Island. In consolation, we get a rock. Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim described the judgment as a "win-win" situation. I agree with that statement, win-win for Singapore.

Snooping Squad or Assasination Squad?

The latest fiasco disclosed by the MCA. It has been alleged that the president of MCA have formed a secret group aka snoop squad to spy on potential enemies of the president. Among the casualties of the snoop squad are Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. So far, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting have been denying the accusations. My question is, why name it snooping squad? It will be way much cooler to name the secret group as the assassination squad. During operation time, they will sneak around in a ninja outfit placing hidden cameras and whoosh, they are gone. That will be much cooler that imagining a bunch of old grown men snooping around peeking at hotel rooms or events to see any dirty laundries by their enemies. And by the way, good job guys. At least on the positive note, you have done your work well. As Yoda have said “Named must your fear be before banish it you can.”

Can these be the MCA Snoop Squad?

Malaysia and the Global Climate Change

Malaysia is without doubt a country that is surrounded by seas. The South China Sea and the Malacca Straits to be exact. With all the hype of global climate change what does that got to do with us being surrounded by seas if you might ask. Well, a lot since if the temperature of the world keep on increasing, sooner or later, the ice in the arctic will melt. The after-effect of that is the volume increase of sea water in the world. That would mean some of our Malaysia's land can be submerge underwater by 15-20 years time. Imagine in the future, there is no longer Port Dickson, Langkawi, Tioman and other fantastic beaches that we have. All will be gone by the time we declare ourselves a developed nation. Hmm.. a developed nation with 20% less land mass I suppose.

Just a block of ice but a deadly threat to our future

The climate change is not a conscious matter that we have the option to deal or not to deal with. It is deadly serious and will effect deeply in our lives and our children's lives if we fail to pay attention to it now. Live a more greener life and yes, one person can make a different.

Jump Froggers, Jump !!

Calling all Yang Berhormat froggers out there. On 16th September 2008, on the cue of the master strategist piper, Anwar Ibrahim, you will all jump with harmony and with a synchronous frog sound hailing the dawn of a new Malaysia. To all Yang Berhormat Froggers, please disregard the voters that have vote you up there. You will hop to wherever place you think are the best position for you and your family. Who cares right. Democracy? What Democracy? Hoppingnism is the new trend now. If you feel not well treated on the other side, YB can simply hop back, right? Or probably these YB should form a new party called Barisan Katak Nasional. The tagline "Bersedia melompat mengikut Arahan (atau harga yg berpatutan)". So, once again. All YB Froggers, please be prepare on 16th September. You have been informed.

Article 153 - To be or not to be

Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for safeguarding the rights and privileges of the Malay and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia, collectively referred to as Bumiputra. The article specifies how the federal government may protect the interest of these groups by establishing quotas for entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education. It is often considered to be part of the social contract, and is commonly cited as a legal defense of ketuanan Melayu — the belief that the Malays are the "masters" (tuan) of Malaysia. - Source: Wikipedia

So, based on the facts above what can we conclude? The article was drafted back in 1957 where at that time, most chinese and Indian population were immigrants. Malay rulers back then questioned the loyalty of chinese and indians. In trying to understand the reality back then, just imagine that you are an owner of a big house with big families. The house was built by your great, great grandfather and was passed down through past generation until now. Even all the things inside the house was either yours or was inherited. But due to some technical reasons, your house was being takeover by a third party. This third party starts to rent out the rooms in the house to people you don't know. Like it or not, you have to accept the people because the house is no longer yours. So, life goes on. You mind your own business, the guest in the house mind theirs. And suddenly, the third party decides to give back the house to you. With all the excitement in the world you accept that decision. Merdeka!! you said. But wait, what about this people that the third party have brought in? They starting to grow in numbers. What do you do? Throw them out? But they have been quite useful in the house. The rent money from them is also a bonus. You can use the money to renovate the house. So, the logical decision is to let them stay. BUT, with a condition. The guest must always acknowledge that the house is yours and not to touch your things. You do your own business and the guest do theirs. And any priviledge to use the television or bathroom must be given to you first as you are the owner of that stuff. It sounds fair right. That is how I view how the article 153 came about. It is the most logical decision to make at that time.

BUT, that's 50 years ago. It has been a long time. The house has become bigger and better than before. Any repairs and renovation in the house is done together with you and your guest. The guest has now become somewhat of a extended family to you. Now, is it fair to treat your guest as a status of a guest eventhough they have been with you through ups and downs for 50 years? You and your family still have the priviledge for the use of television and bathroom eventhough the television and bathroom is now brand new and the cost of buying it is shared among you and the guest? It's been 50 years.. and in my personal view.. there should be a new approach for that relationship. It's been 50 years.. Malaysia should have a new approach on its social contract. Don't you think?

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim - Saviour or Witchhunter?

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. A name that I just knew after the election. At first, I thought that this guy must be good. Appointed as the new Menteri Besar of Selangor, he can finally bring a wind of change to Selangor and bring better governence. Being a former CEO of PNB, he must have good business acumen and therefore be able to develop the economy of Selangor. That all of course my positive impression until the proposed RM100 million babi in Sepang came about. I was frustrated on how he handled that thing. It shows a weakness in the administration and the attitude that the current state Government have. If the rakyat does not like it, blame the past administration. What the .... ? Have you forgotten that you are now THE STATE GOVERNMENT and not the opposition anymore. Why make a press statement saying that Khir Toyo's past administration approved it while you currently have the power to stop the project? It really looks like you just want to cuci tangan only but in the sametime approved something just for the sake of pleasing the DAP.

Another event was how he handled Radio Selangor. Throwing them out of your building because of them refusing to give you a slot seems very childish. What happen to diplomatic ways? And finally the digging up of past exco expenditure. Is it me or I think that the current state exco is more interested in witch hunt and personal vendetta than focussing on administring a good state government?

The Proton Saga : The Empire Strikes Back

I am without doubt the most loyal customer of the Proton car. I have never own any car brand besides the car produce by Proton. Well, the first car I bought right after I graduated in 2001 is the Evo wannabe 'Proton Wira'. And I bought it without any hesitation. The only reason at that time.. I have no choice. Others are simply to costly. Now, zoom in to the future that is today. Graduates who just finish their study can now able to choose from a lot of car brand. The price of other car brand now can compete in a fair market with Proton. Kudos to Paklah's administration for this to happen. Proton has been milking the malaysian public far too long. Proton should now have be strong enough to compete with the world. Honestly, despite many others are saying, I do think Proton has a slight chance of survival. Yes, the global car company such as Toyota, Honda, VW, Ford has been bigger and ever than before. They are gobbling up every other small carmakers in the world. Proton is like only a side dishes to them. But, if they did it right, choose the right partners and niche market, I believe that Proton someday will in turn gobble up the big players. Who knows, in the future, Volkswagen whose the one that will be owned by Proton.

Future Proton Car?

The Gangsters of Malaysia

Malaysian's mass media likes to associate crime with foreign immigrants. Just take a look at TV3 for instance, raid by police will always shows police capturing illegal foreignors. Eventhough they have the tendency to do violence, studies have shown that the foreign immigrants only contributes to 2% of the total index crime in Malaysia. What they should focus more is the increasing level of gangsterism in Malaysia. Below is a graph I found on the statistics of registered gang members in Malaysia in 2004. Made me think, how did they register? with whom? ministry of gangsterism? :)

Source: The Rise of Crime in Malaysia, ACP Amar Singh Sidhu, 2004

I have been educated in a Malaysian public school, and I have to admit, gangsterism is a norm. Fightings outside or inside the school is like a normal occurence. Just you are walking by to buy that delicious cendol (and play some tikam) outside the school gate, suddenly bangg.. a student get walloped by a helmet by another student. Schools of course under reported this as to keep the squeeky clean image of the school. When fights happen, teachers will usually turn away and act as nothing is happening. When fight happens, students will gather around to see it like a wrestling match in television. Honestly, it's exciting to see a hooligan bashing up another student mercilessly without any apparent reason, unless it is you who is being beaten up. Chinese, Indians and Malays each form its own gang. Never I have seen a multiracial gang. From my personal observation, the Indian and Malay gang usually fight bcoz of a girl. Wahh..so romantic la these fella. The Chinese gang is much more organised and is usually linked with triads outside the school.

Ok, on a serious note, what cause students to get involved in a gang? Disfunctional family? poor family? Single parent family? On a book entitled Freakonomics, Stephen Levitt has a theory on this. He says that whether a child is going bad or not is not correlated with good or bad parenting. It's largely due to who are your child's friends. You can give the best parenting possible, but if he get mixed with a bad crowd, he would likely fall into the dark side. Man.. Just look at Star Wars, Anakin become Darth Vedder bcoz of bad peer pressure by the Sith Lord. Haha.. Even the wise Yoda could not save him. Freaky isnt' it?

Malaysian History X

Mahathir got it right the first time by speaking out his mind to Tunku Abdul Rahman. In which in a letter he sent, he criticised Tunku of weak administration that causes the 1969 racial riot. Being sacked after that for being a 'kurang ajar', he spent his days in political wilderness writing a book called 'The Malays Dilemma." I think if the internet existed in those days, he will definitely blog his brain out. Now, fast forward to the future. Mukhriz, his son is attempting to do the same manner as was his father did in 1969; sent a letter to Paklah asking for his resignation. Wahh.. so creative this Mukhriz fella. Just follow your daddy's footstep all the way. But, the only thing different is, Mukhriz did not get sacked from UMNO. But, I bet that quietly, people in UMNO are starting to rally around this guy. This is bcoz if history really did repeat itself, Mukhriz will go far.

Mukhriz vs Hishamuddin

"Let's settle this like a man. Last one standing gets the seat "

In Utusan Malaysia today, Mukhriz made a statement that he is waiting Hishamudin, his boss to make a move to vacant his seat first, before declaring his intention whether to contest for the Ketua Pemuda UMNO or not. Alaa.. come on la.. Politics in Malaysia is so very polite one laa. I don't get it. If Mukhriz is so brave enough to send a letter to Paklah asking him to resign, why suddenly become so coward in challenging Hishamuddin? You can insult the big boss of UMNO himself, but still playing safe at the Pemuda level? Just go ahead step in the ring, challenge Hishamuddin. Whether or not he is vacancying the seat is different matter.

'Islamisation' vs 'Westernisation'. It's time for a half time break

Geert Wilders must have something wrong up his head. Why... ooohh why would you troubled yourself to this mess? Are you just plain bored of your life? As a human being, insulting a person's belief is morally wrong. Insulting an entire community? that is plain stupid. The dutch embassy around the world now have to beef up their security just for the sake of Wilders trying to gain popularity in the parliament. Netherlands product all around the world will face boycott and this will cause some economic loss to Netherlands. Why? All because of Wilders selfish political ambition.

And the funny thing is that Wilders does not have a clue about the difference between Islamisation, Terrorism and Arabisation. Islam is just a religion as any other religion in the world. The terrorist is not fighting for Islam. They think that they are fighting for Islam but in reality they are fighting for the sake of their own distorted belief only. I don't know what religion Wilders holds to but if he say Islam is wrong in banning gay relationship... heyy.. Christian bans gay relationships too. As far as I know, I don't know any religion in the world that encourages gay relationship. Islam bans sex out of wedlock.. so does Christian. The only difference is how strong are your belief in that religion to uphold it in your daily life. Violence can come from any community or any group. By provoking this group to do more violence is not the solution.

Dawn of a new era?

I can't believe it. Finally, a strong opposition in the parliament. The Wind of Change is in the horizon. Or is it? My personal view is that the de facto of the recent suprise of the PRU12 Malaysian Election result is simply due to the fact that Barisan Nasional is no longer at the heart of young voters. BN did not even have an official blog. BN seems to be trapped in the old school ways of campaigning. By controlling the content in Mass Media and playing up the sentiments through government controlled newspaper by a 'syok sendiri' campaign. Duhhh. so outdated. Time Mahathir bolehla camtu. University students, graduates, young professionals simply do not feel the connection with Barisan Nasional. They now have multiple sources for information and the mass media is no longer the only source.My view also is that Malaysian's now are not like the previous generation. We as a nation has now all grown up and as like any young adults who just starting to develop, we do not like to be told what to do. Right or wrong, we have our own opinion on what's best for our life. BN playing a father figure, playing a "I know whats best for you" policy is no longer accepted. There is now a two-way communication and not just a one sided communication.

The widespread perception of UMNO also does not help either. If you are an UMNO member, you must be aftering contracts from the Government. If you are an UMNO member, you just want to get in the influential circle. Hey.. what happen to the spirit of upholding 'Agama, Bangsa dan Negara'? And to make it worse, add-in a pinch of elitism, a spoonful of nepotism, a cup full of money politics in the UMNO circle and wal-lah, you got the perfect recipe for a disfunctional organisation. Honestly, if a Prime Minister himself have to announce time and time again in the newspaper he is in control of the country, in control of the party, surely something must be wrong. If you are in control, you do not even need to tell people that.

Yes, the price hike in oil and others plays a critical factor also, but, surely, the voters also knew that the opposition also cannot do much about it. The PRU12 sends a clear message that BN has lost its relevancy. So, what usually can we do if a car breaks down? Change the driver or change the engines?

The downfall of Malaysian music industry

As any other industry, there will always be a U-shaped trend, upwards and downwards. Honestly speaking, the Malaysian music industry was comfortably in the upward zone and suddenly before you know it, it is rock bottom. All you can hear now in the radio is foreign (more precisely Indonesian) song. It you have read Malcolm Gladwell's book entitled "The Tipping Point", he explains very precisely about the U-shaped trend. He explains that at a point of time, the trends of particular events or industry can shifted drastically. This point of time is called the tipping point. So, what's that got to do with the Malaysian music industry? Well, if we applied Malcolm's theory, the fall of the Malaysian music industry must starts at a tipping point. So, when exactly is that tipping point? Maybe its hard to believe this but from my personal view, the tipping point is at the start of the first debut of hit music reality tv.

Ok, let's look at facts first shall we? Akademi Fantasia first hits the airwave in 2003. In that same time also saw the emergence of Sheila on 7, the first Indonesian band that really make an impact to the Malaysian music industry. These followed by Peterpan, Dewa and so on. Interesting coincidence isn't it? Not convinced? Ok, let's look at a more serious note, the economics theory. Wahh,, fun stuff :).

Reality tv's singing competition in a positive note, has given a breath of fresh air for the Malaysian music industry. It has provide a platform to discover hidden talent among Malaysians. All of a sudden, Malaysia have a surplus of artists that Malaysian's can idolise. Mind you, one batch of Akademi Fantasia is 12 -14 students. These students who either eliminated or graduated from the akademi will and has established a fan base. This causes surplus of artist exceeding tha actual demand of the market. But, in the sametime, the Malaysian's songwriter and composer remains the same. So, what happens is the mismatch of supply and demand of artists created and songwriters available.

In economic terms, if the price of a substitute good changes, the economic value for the good in question will change in the same direction. For example, wheat bread is a close substitute for multi-grain bread. So, if the price of multi-grain bread goes up, while the price of wheat bread remains the same, some people will switch, or substitute, from multi-grain to wheat bread. Therefore, more wheat bread is demanded and its demand function shifts upward, making the area under it, the consumer surplus, greater.

Therefore, to conclude, we have now way too many artist in Malaysia but with the same amount of songwriters. This caused the market to shift and therefore creates high demand for Indonesian musics. Freaky isn't it?